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Deprecated: Function set_magic_quotes_runtime() is deprecated in /home/nrinsti/public_html/mediamalpractice/wp-settings.php on line 18Obamacare Does Use Taxpayer Funds For Abortions | National Review Institute Blog

Obamacare Does Use Taxpayer Funds For Abortions

Abortion opponents say the legislation would use taxes to subsidize insurance that could cover the procedure. Under the House bill, health plans could choose to cover abortion, but they generally could not use federal money to pay for the procedure and instead would have to use money from the premiums paid by beneficiaries. Representative Diana DeGette, Democrat of Colorado, said the bill would keep current restrictions on the use of federal money for abortion.

Well if Representative Diana DeGette, Democrat of Colorado, says Obamacare doesn’t use federal money than it must be true! Instead of just taking a Democrats word for it, the New York Times might have wanted to do some actual reporting on the issue. Specifically they should cover the House Energy and Commerce Committee mark-up of H.R. 3200. The Heritage Foundaiton’s Bob Moffit details the fate of federal funding for abortion in Obamacare:

Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) offered an amendment that would require at least one insurance plan to cover abortion in each geographical region. The amendment would also require the newly-created public plan to cover all abortion services, depending upon the fate of the Hyde Amendment, the measure that currently restricts federal funding of abortion. Rep. Capps’ amendment would also allow affordability credits, which are taxpayer-funded subsidies, to be used for health insurance plans that cover abortions.

Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) jointly introduced an amendment that would specifically prohibit federal funds from being used to cover abortion services. The Pitts-Stupak amendment failed. Rep. Pitts also offered an amendment to block any government requirement on health insurance networks to include abortion. Although this second Pitts amendment initially passed, it was reconsidered and it failed on the second Committee vote. Based on the passage of the Capps amendment and failure of the Pitts and Stupak amendments, taxpayers would end up financing abortion.